Over 200 Bangladeshis stranded at Greek island

At least 200 Bangladeshis have remained stranded at the Kush Island in Greece for more than three weeks. They were taken to Bodrum from Istanbul of Turkey by an old ship by people smugglers last month and then deported on a motorboat and given oars. They are victims of human trafficking, Greek police said. The trafficking victims reached Kush by the boat late last month and have been stranded there for over three weeks, police said. The victims said Greek police used to give stay-paper for at least one month. But this time police have been declining to issue stay-paper and that is why they have remained stranded in the island for over three weeks. They also said that each of them had euro 100-150 when they started for Greece from Turkey but human traffickers took away their money before they were dropped on the boat in Bodrum. “Each of us had €100-150 that we lost to them (traffickers),” they added. Several migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and some other countries sneak into Greece coasts by boats and then travel to Greek capital Athens. Failing to enter the Greek mainland, currently, the 200 Bangladeshis have been living sub-human life at Kush Island, said an official at Bangladesh embassy in Turkey.

Two of the stranded Bangladeshis, Rafiqul Islam Noyon of Narsingdi and Raqib Khan of Debidwar upazila of Comilla district said they are passing their days badly, without money.
They said, “The human traffickers took us to Bodrum from Istanbul. The traffickers, then, deported us on a motorboat and gave oars. We reached here (Kush) with difficulty.”
They also said local police used to give stay-paper for a month. But, they were not issuing them any, according to a news agency.
- mbz